Straw Stitch

You’ll spot women across the mountains of Nepal carrying straw baskets that tie across their hips and heads. They tend to use them for collecting crops, wood or hay to bring home. I’ve even seen a few in the capital carrying bricks in them on construction sites.

One day, while in the village, a friend of mine pointed out the home of a man that made these baskets and we paid him a visit. We learned (through hand signals as he doesn’t speak English) that he makes three baskets each day in his little house to sell to the local villagers. His family sat around as he worked on the last basket of the day in front of us.

Although it looks quite difficult to tame all the straw in the stitching by hand, for him it’s an art. I was drawn by how swiftly his fingers moved the straw in place and the sharp sunlight hitting the basket only added to spotlight the scene in front of us: